This invention relates to an improved holder for securing a rod to a fixture, and for permitting adjustment of the rod's height and orientation. The invention also relates to a clamping system in which two holders, situated on a common rod, are attached to ordinarily separate objects to provide an adjustable, secure, yet temporary connection between them.
The need for temporarily interconnecting movable objects occurs in many different environments. For example, in a hospital, when a patient must be moved to a different room, it is usually necessary simultaneously to move I.V. poles, monitoring devices and other equipment attached to the patient. In complex procedures, such as heart transplantation, three or four poles, each supporting a different device, may be needed. The number of people needed to make the move can be reduced by connecting these devices to the bed, Gurney or wheel chair supporting the patient.
Some of the equipment which is attached to a bed for patient transportation may be very expensive; partly for that reason, it is very important that the connection between a supporting pole and the fixture be secure. At the same time, the attaching structures themselves should not add a lot of weight to the bed.
Various types of clamps have been adapted to connect supporting rods to fixtures such as hospital beds, but none is sufficiently adaptable and easy to use. Generic clamps are difficult to manipulate. It would be an improvement to provide a clamp which could be conveniently manipulated with one hand, and easily tightened to different movable objects.